05 Jul 2013 4 Comments
in American Series, Recipes Tags: 4th of July, barbecue, California, cooking, food, humor, recipes, Santa Maria, tri-tip
To give you a sense of how thoroughly ingrained in the collective California consciousness the tri tip is, I need tell a story.
The 4th of July was approaching, I was at the market, and tri tip was on sale. I figured that would be the perfect thing to grill for a few friends who were coming by, so I bought a nice three pounder, brought it home, sprinkled it with salt, wrapped it in paper towels and put it in the fridge to cure for a few days. More
02 Jul 2013 13 Comments
in Food, Recipes Tags: Berthillon, Gelateria Nico, ice cream, McConnell's Ice Cream, mint and chip, Nat Parker, Salt & Straw, Shirley Parker, Topanga, Williams-Sonoma
Shirley in her kitchen
I was at the doctor recently for my annual check up.
“Your diastolic reading is a little borderline high,” she said. “Do you eat a lot of salt?”
“Not really,” I said. “I don’t eat much processed food.” More
28 Jun 2013 11 Comments
in Food, Humor, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories), Video Tags: beer batter, Daniel Shore, food, fried, humor, local food, rattlesnake, Topanga
There are always interesting things happening in the canyon.
A hot, lazy Southern California afternoon. As I was driving my kids on a winding country road through horse ranches and chaparral the other day, I got a text from my friend Dan:
“Yo bro. Just got a big ol rattler. You want some slither wid yo dinner?”
Daniel with his prize
Rattlesnakes are pretty common up here, and I’ll often see one or two a year. In some of the hotter parts of the canyon, people may see one or two a day. More
25 Jun 2013 8 Comments
in American Series, Food Tags: Alice Waters, Betty Crocker, carne asada, cherry cobbler, Dodgers, Emeril Lagasse, Hollywood bowl, Saveur, summer, Tae Kwon Do
With summer comes all things American — baseball, barbecues, fireworks, hot dogs and burgers, corn on the cob, the beach. It seems as if summer is the quintessential American season — a time of sunny optimism, that most American trait.
Willa picking cherries
Each region of the country celebrates the season a little differently. We have our own unique summer traditions in Southern California — margaritas and mariachi, carne asada, Spanish rosé, tri tip on the grill, Dodger dogs and Hollywood Bowl picnics. One summer favorite I’ve always eyed with suspicion was cherry cobbler. Until recently, that is… More
21 Jun 2013 7 Comments
in Cooking Tips, Food, Recipes Tags: green tomatoes, humor, Italian food, Mario Batali, pasta, recipes, spaghetti, Topanga Canyon
Late last fall, I was picking up my son Flynn from the home of our friends’ Lori and Gerard, where he was playing with his friend — their daughter Kiana.
Green tomatoes, herbs & squash blossom
Lori and I were standing in the yard chatting while the kids hammered on their wood projects and toddler Immy rolled around in a big plastic Smart Car-looking toy she found on the patio. We talked of the difficulty of growing vegetables in Topanga Canyon, as I admired her tall, barren tomato plants. More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 